University of New England

Director of Housing and Residential/Commuter Life

University of New England seeks a visionary leader for the newly restructured position of Director of Housing and Residential/Commuter Life. The University of New England is a vibrant institution with campuses in Biddeford and Portland, Maine as well as Tangier, Morocco. With 2,300 full-time undergraduate students and a total enrollment of over 8,000 students, UNE is Maine’s largest private institution of higher education. The cozy coastal town of Biddeford is the location of the undergraduate residential campus. Biddeford is located just 18 miles south from Portland, Maine’s largest city, and only 90 miles from Boston. Situated at the mouth of the Saco River, the Biddeford campus features ten residence halls housing over 1,500 students. The University’s 3-year undergraduate residency requirement, coupled with our living-learning communities, numerous student involvement and recreation opportunities, and 17 NCAA Division III varsity sports, create a vibrant campus life for our student body. UNE provides a rigorous academic experience for students with a 13:1 student to faculty ratio, average class size of 22 and 41% of seniors having worked with or currently working with faculty on research projects. UNE students study abroad at five times the national average, highlighting the institution’s commitment to global education. In 2016, 93% of our graduates were employed or enrolled in post graduate studies within six months of graduation.

Responsibilities:

The Director of Housing and Residential/Commuter Life will oversee the strategic plan for the Housing and Residential/Commuter Life department including the departmental vision and how the department will support the greater goals and mission of the Division of Student Affairs. The Director serves as a member of the Divisional of Student Affairs leadership team to advise and support the Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students. Recruits, hires, trains, evaluates and supervises 6 professional staff and one office support staff. Plans, implements, and administers the department assessment and learning outcomes. Provides oversight of departmental funds including planning, requesting and administering the operating budgets. Performs a variety of key planning tasks including forecasting housing trends and projecting housing occupancy. Reviews and develops policy and procedure governing student behavior, social and educational programming, planning and coordinating emergency protocols. Serves as a student conduct hearing officer. Oversees services and support for commuter students including social and educational programming, and off-campus housing listings. Demonstrates a commitment to social justice, inclusion, and equity by championing programming, advocacy, and support for diverse communities (including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, national origin, sexual orientation, ability, size, religion/spirituality, and socioeconomic status).

Qualifications:

A Master's Degree in Student Personnel or other appropriate discipline, plus 6 to 10 years of relevant student housing and general student affairs administrative experience that demonstrates increasing levels of responsibility, with one or more years of live-in experience, or combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are required.

Must possess a broad knowledge set and skills related to university residence hall management, including experience in student conduct, with good working knowledge of relevant laws and regulations.

Must excel in planning, administration, organization, supervision and budget management.

Demonstrate superior writing skills.

Ability to effectively communicate with a wide variety of University students, staff, faculty, administrators, parents, and others, often in difficult circumstances regarding sensitive disciplinary matters.

Must be able to participate in an on-call duty rotation, and work nights/weekends.

Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled.